Uhh How often should I be doing water changes again?

So I've had my new 55 gal set up for about 4 weeks now. We just did a full clean of the tank (siphoned the rocks cleaned the decorations and plants ect.) I checked my lvls last night and they came up to be

They have dropped since last time but I'm wondering if our water change schedule is affecting that. No fish have died they all seem happy and content including my pleco. Just wondering if this is normal. we change the water (20%) 2x a week Sunday and Wednesdays.

So I've had my new 55 gal set up for about 4 weeks now. We just did a full clean of the tank (siphoned the rocks cleaned the decorations and plants ect.) I checked my lvls last night and they came up to be

They have dropped since last time but I'm wondering if our water change schedule is affecting that. No fish have died they all seem happy and content including my pleco. Just wondering if this is normal. we change the water (20%) 2x a week Sunday and Wednesdays.

Emilynn

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I do mine once a week unless I get a spike from adding new fish sometimes. You might have cleaned to thoroughly. I've also heard not to clean everything all at once. But maybe clean the filter one time and then a few weeks later clean the decorations.

Hi Emilynn, it looks like your tank is still cycling. Water changes are essential to your fish health during this process and you should strive to keep both your ammonia and nitrite under .25PPM, this can be achieved with daily water changes. Also take note that the percentage of water removed is proportionate to the amount of contaminate removed, so if you have a reading of .50PPM ammonia and need to lower it to .25PPM, then you wold need to change 50% 25 gallons of water from your aquarium. This is temporary until your beneficial bacteria have established. Once established, your readings should be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and preferably under 80PPM nitrates. I do water changes in all my tanks once a week and remove 75% of the water. Best of luck.

How much % water change is recommended with goldfish? I currently have a fancy one and a few other species in with it. I've been doing 25% weekly.I just added some new danios, and know I will need to change it more often?

So I've had my new 55 gal set up for about 4 weeks now. We just did a full clean of the tank (siphoned the rocks cleaned the decorations and plants ect.) I checked my lvls last night and they came up to be

They have dropped since last time but I'm wondering if our water change schedule is affecting that. No fish have died they all seem happy and content including my pleco. Just wondering if this is normal. we change the water (20%) 2x a week Sunday and Wednesdays.

Emilynn

Click to expand...

My 55 gallon is cleaned every weekend. I do close to 20% myself. Most importantly, doing the gravel vacuum is the best thing.

When it comes to the plants & decor, all mine is natural (drift wood, anubis, java fern) so I don't actually "wash them" nor is any algae present.

Your levels as stated above are due to a cycle. Is this a newly set up tank? If you clean everything 2x a week including your filtration you may be killing off the good bacteria. Just keep checking your levels. Unless you are completely overstocked, doing a full clean 2 times a week is both a waste of your time & possibly casing constant mini-cycles.

How much % water change is recommended with goldfish? I currently have a fancy one and a few other species in with it. I've been doing 25% weekly.I just added some new danios, and know I will need to change it more often?

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Not to sound rude but creating a separate support thread for your specific species of fish may yield you better results.

Here's the deal with water changes. At the minimum you want your nitrate level to be your guide on how large of a weekly water change you need to preform. Assuming you have 0ppm nitrate in your tap water, you want your nitrates to stay under 20ppm. So you need to do a large enough water change so that just before your next weekly water change your nitrates are no more 20ppm.

But I have to say that I do 50% water changes every week in all of my tanks.

Filters will need some maintenance. Cleaning them with used tank water is best. I don't clean the internal much except the well where the impeller lives, when it builds up slime it will slow down the impeller if not stop it from turning/moving the water column.

And the pick up tubes do need to be cleaned as well for they will get clogged up over time. How long depends on your bio load of the tank. My Oscars I have to clean more often than my Tetra and Mollie tank.

My last tank cleaning on my Mollie and Tetras had almost nothing in the gravel bed. But my filter well that was a different story. It had gone to over flow mode in 5 weeks, never say anything it was capturing from the water column. Water is crystal clear at all times. Nitrates always under 40ppm.

So for my tanks cleaning/PWC.
Oscars at least once a week at 50%ADF's at least once a week at 50%
Tetras/Mollies about once a month at 50%

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